1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to control and utilization of personal information management (PIM) data such as calendar and contact information and other types of information in the general context of personal and professional activities. More specifically, the present invention relates to publishing data amongst a community of users.
2. Background of the Invention
Presently available groupware applications and other related collaboration products that facilitate shared work and access to documents and information (e.g., data pools) are, to a certain extent, ‘closed networks.’ That is, certain information cannot be shared amongst users of different groupware products because the protocols setting forth the rules and standards by which communication of data takes place are different. For example, an individual using Microsoft® Outlook® as an e-mail client via a Microsoft® Exchange® Server can exchange e-mail messages with an individual using a Lotus® Notes client via an IBM® Lotus® Domino Server. Those same users cannot, however, access the contact or calendar data of one another due to protocol differences between an Exchange® Server and a Domino Server.
There have been some software applications that have attempted to bridge the protocol gap such as the Trillian instant messaging (IM) client from Cerulean Studios. Trillian is a multi-protocol chat client that supports AOL® Instant Messenger, ICO®, MSN® Messenger, Yahoo!® Messenger and IRC through a single interface by enabling simultaneous connections to existing instant messaging networks via a direct connection to whatever servers actually power the messaging network. Trillian, however, cannot share most types of corporate or personal data as it is limited to Instant Messaging.
Day-to-day life—as evidenced by the advent of such technologies like Instant Messaging—has become increasingly digitally interactive with a need and desire to share or ‘publish’ various types of information with others. Business relationships, for example, are the result of networking and referrals whereby access to information concerning certain persons or businesses has become critical. Personal relationships, too, are more global thereby requiring access to some sort of networked digital communication medium in order to bridge the thousands of miles that might separate individuals or communities.
Even with e-mail, facsimile, courier and express mail services, the sharing or publication of data can be delayed by hours or days. Hours can often mean the difference between closing a deal or losing a deal to a possible competitor. Similar delays can leave friends and family ‘out-of-touch’ with other members of a community. For example, a relative in Europe may not know of, for example, a birth or death in the family that occurred thousands of miles away in the United States.
There is, therefore, a need for a system that allows for the aggregation and access of all types of data in a centralized manner notwithstanding network protocols or other proprietary limitations. Through the aggregation of this data in a centralized manner, the data can then be shared or published amongst a community of users in order to allow for more informed personal and professional relationships.